When can I do physical work

I'm having my RNY surgery tomorrow. and am wondering when I can do some physical work.
Our son is getting married in our backyard June 26th and I have a lot of gardening to do.
The women at a support group I visited said that I shouldn't do ANYTHING for 6-8 weeks. They advised against cutting the grass (because it involves pushing and pulling) no raking, They said I shouldn't attempt to sand and stain my deck. I plan to get a load of topsoil delivered and spread it around but I do realize that this is way too much strain(I'd get one of my sons to do that job)..
I thought by 3-4 weeks I could do some of the lighter yard work.. Am I being naive when it come to the recovery time?

John

I have to say that I would not do much of anything in the pulling, pushing, lifting category for 6 weeks. I did end up with an incisonal hernia though for starting out too fast. I may be on the cautious side. I hate to be the, "ask the Dr", guy, but this might be something you go over with your Doc.

Don't ever ask women for advice !!!! Talk to your Dr. You said you have sons ...Abuse them and make them do it all for you !! Milk it as long as you can , you will need time to heal properly and the last thing you will need is a set back in your progress by over doing it too soon. Good luck and can't wait until you become a "loser" like the rest of us.

That's why I had kids, yard work, and for when the batteries die on the remote control. I'd like to find more uses for them but so far I'm stumped

Refilling your beverage.

Getting the paper in.

Taking out the trash.

Picking up dog sh**.

Bringing in firewood.

Paint the house.

Farm/ranch labor.

Damn, wish I had a teenager or two!

Save yourself the hassle.  Pay them to elope!

I mowed the lawn about 10 days out -- that was a mistake!  It is difficult to consume enough liquids to replace that lost by the exercise.  I also tired easily for several weeks,

I hit my 2 week (14 day) post op (RNY-RNY with a hernia repair).  Yesterday, Day 12, I did some light yard work and cleaned/washed my boat.  I'm not able to lift anything real heavy and at the end of the day, I was wiped-out.  No pain, just no stamina.

Best advice, get your Doc's opinion.  Don't push or over do (yea...that one is tough for some of us) and by all means...
 
abuse...I mean use those boys!!!  What's the point of having Slaves if the don't do your chores???  As that father of two grown sons, get as much out of them as you can.  Play the "just had surgery" card and make em sweat!!!

Good luck with you surgery...and congrats on your son's wedding!

Listen to your surgeon, not the old hens at the support group. He has the MD, they don't.

I had a 2 week restriction on lifting anything heavier than 15 pounds following a lap RNY; open is usually 4. That didn't mean I couldn't do anything else, I just couldn't lift. Raking, sweeping, etc would be fine.

The other thing to consider is that you're gonna feel like hell for a while because you'll have no stamina. It took me a full month to get that back to pre-op levels. I rode a bicycle 5 days out without physical problems, but I ran out of gas within 2 miles.

Good luck. Try doing stuff, if it doesn't hurt, you should be fine.

I'm 1 week post op.. feeling great.. but bored to death..
I take long walks, but I still can't bend very easily.. anything that uses my stomach muscles (which I ddn't even know I had lol) still hurts.
Tried to do some comparison shopping for a bbq the other day. after 2 stores I had to come home I was exhuasted..
I'll just have to listen to my body.. and see how quickly I can progress